Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: On May 14th, 1948, the Jewish National Council proclaimed the birth of the modern state of Israel. Was this unprecedented event foretold by the ancient prophets or was it merely an accident of history? We'll find out today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, Gary Hedrick is leading our discussion about whether or not the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Welcome, listening friend, to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies dealing with the question of whether or not the rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And on the last program, we were talking about the two extreme viewpoints when it comes to the interpretation of Bible prophecy.

First, we said there are the prophetic wizards who are always trying to predict the date of the rapture or trying to figure out who the antichrist is or trying to identify the mark of the beast, and they come up with all sorts of wild theories. Then at the opposite end of the spectrum, we've got the prophetic skeptics who take the attitude that you can't detect a fulfillment of prophecy until after it actually happens.

The skeptics are the ones who say the rapture is a signless event, so prophetic signs are not applicable to the church age. So let's talk about this issue of whether or not prophetic signs are for the church age. Are they? Well, technically, it's correct to say that the rapture of the church is a signless event.

That is, there are no specific prophetic events that must happen before the church is taken out in the rapture. Strictly speaking, the rapture could occur at any time. So in that sense, it's imminent. It's a signless event. However, the skeptics begin at that point, which is a valid one, and then they jump from there to the erroneous conclusion that no biblical signs of Christ's coming will become evident until after the rapture of the church.

Now you might say, well, you just said, Gary, that there are no specific prophetic events that must happen before the church is taken out. And that's right. There are no specific prophetic events that have to happen. Things like the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, the revelation of the antichrist, the rise of the United States of Europe, the battle of Gog and Magog—those are all prophetic events that occur during the tribulation.

But now, follow me. That doesn't mean that there are no biblical signs that will precede the rapture of the church. And let me tell you why, listening friend. The prophetic scriptures are not limited only to specific events. They also deal with prophetic trends. And the prophetic skeptics ignore the fact that a general prophetic trend can be just as legitimate a sign as a specific prophesied event.

Now let me show you what I mean. If you're where you can get to a Bible, take it and turn with me to Matthew chapter 24. I'm going to show you the distinction between specific prophesied events and the more general prophetic trends that are given in the Bible. And this Olivet Discourse in Matthew chapter 24 is a key passage because this is where our Lord described several prophetic trends that would unfold during the church age, long before their apocalyptic climax during the tribulation.

Let's look at what he says beginning in Matthew 24, verse three. "Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world, the end of the age?" Now notice, the disciples are asking him two questions. First, they want to know when the temple will be destroyed. He had just told them up here in verse two that the Jerusalem temple would be totally decimated, totally destroyed.

He said not one stone of the temple would be left upon another. And by the way, those stones were huge—large white stones, four feet high and up to 15 feet long, each one of them weighing several thousand pounds, several tons. And he said the whole structure would be destroyed. So they wanted to know when that would happen. "When will these things be?"

You see, the temple was the religious center of Judaism. It was modeled after the tabernacle in the wilderness, which was built according to a divine blueprint in the days of Moses. Jewish people came from all over the world to Jerusalem to worship at that temple. And by the way, this was Herod's temple in the time of Christ, the second temple, and it wasn't even finished at the time Jesus was saying these words to his disciples.

It wasn't finished until about AD 64. So even as Jesus and his disciples were talking, the work was going on. So the Lord's prophecy that this temple would be destroyed had tremendous significance to the disciples. They wanted the particulars. So they said, "When will these things be?" But there was a second part to their question. Look what the disciples said next.

They came to him privately saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? That is, when will the temple be destroyed? When will one stone not be left upon another? And," and here's the second part of their question, "what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" So there were two parts to the question. First, when will the temple be destroyed—and of course, that was fulfilled in AD 70—and second, what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

Now notice, the word sign is singular. "What will be the sign of your coming?" One sign. You see, we are told in Luke 2:12 that the manger in Bethlehem was the sign of Christ's first coming. And Christ himself taught that there would be yet another sign that would herald his second coming. Verse 30 says, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

And here's another instance where a Gentile-dominated church has gone astray in a key area of biblical interpretation. Some of the ancient church fathers said the sign of the Son of Man would be a burning cross glowing up there in the heavens. Others said it would be an advent star like the star of Bethlehem shining in the sky to announce Christ's second coming.

In more modern times, some Gentile commentators have said that the sign, singular, of Christ's coming was World War I. In fact, one well-known evangelical preacher wrote a book on prophecy a few years ago in which he devoted a whole chapter to World War I and how it was the sign of Christ's imminent return. But that's not it. If you want to see what the sign of the Son of Man really is, just look at Matthew chapter 24 through Jewish eyes. That's all you have to do.

In fact, if we have time on the next program, I'll show you how the Jewish interpretation shows us what the sign will be. But we're running out of time today, so let's get back to the disciples' two questions. They want to know, first of all, when the temple will be destroyed, and secondly, when Christ will return to earth. Now, here's his answer, verse four: "And Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many."

Verse six: "And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famine and pestilence and earthquakes in divers places." Now, did you hear what he said? "All these things must come to pass, but" what? "The end is not yet," he said. He said these things in themselves are not signs of the end.

Because warfare and famine and pestilence and earthquakes are things that will characterize the entire church age. These are all things that have been going on virtually since the beginning of human history. So if these are things that have always been going on, how could they be a sign of the end of the age? Well, the answer is in the next verse. Now, watch this, verse eight: "All these are the beginning of sorrows." There's the key.

You see, it's a prophetic analogy. In the Greek, the word translated sorrows here literally means birth pangs. Our Lord is drawing an analogy between the prophetic trends that will precede his second coming and the labor pains or contractions that precede childbirth. This metaphor explains the significance of the prophetic trends enumerated here in Matthew chapter 24. How does an expectant mother know when she's about to give birth?

By the increasing frequency and intensity of her labor pains. When they're a minute or so apart and very painful, she knows her baby is about to be born. That's the key. Certain prophetic trends like warfare, earthquakes, famine, disease—those trends would characterize much of the church age. Jesus, however, said the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6. That is, these events do not become signs of the end of the age until they begin to increase noticeably in frequency and intensity.

Well, we're just scratching the surface here, but we're out of time already. I'll see you next time. We'll pick this up where we left off. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. You know, with everything that's been happening recently in the Middle East, it's vital that Christians understand what the Bible says about this important piece of real estate. Has God given up on his people Israel like the replacement theologians would have us believe?

Is God finished with the Jewish people, as some people claim? Absolutely not. In fact, nearly 2,000 years after the destruction of the temple, God is now beginning to deal with his people Israel in a very specific way. All the information you need on this timely subject is right here on one convenient CD. It's available for a gift of just $6 or more to the ministry of Messianic Perspectives.

Just ask for series number GT-12. The title is simply, "The Rebirth of Israel in 1948 - Was It a Fulfillment of Prophecy?" Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292.

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And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you? As Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series on the rebirth of Israel in 1948—was it a fulfillment of prophecy?—right here on Messianic Perspectives.